22 years of diabetes

Hi and welcome,

I'm a T2 so can't advise you. All I can say is welcome to the forum, and some T1s will be along shortly.

Hi @Adonno welcome to the forum. How do you manage your diabetes? What insulins are you on and do you carb count? What's you're diabetic control and hba1c like? What healthcare support are you getting, are you under an endocrinologist and do you have access to a DSN?

Adonno said:

Hi, i take apidra every heavy meal and lantus every night, i dont have any health Care cause im from the Philippines hehhe, I'm not sure how to count my carbs so even though i have diabetes for sooooo looong im kinda a newbie to all of this carb counts i hope by stayong here and reading some threads i might learn sone new things to help me with diabetes

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Hi Adonno,

Welcome to the forum.

May I ask what will seem like a silly question to most T1s. (In order to understand your position.)
Do you have a blood test meter?

Gonna tag in a few people that can also assist... @noblehead @daisy1 @Scott-C @GrantGam @therower

Adonno said:

Hi, i take apidra every heavy meal and lantus every night, i dont have any health Care cause im from the Philippines hehhe, I'm not sure how to count my carbs so even though i have diabetes for sooooo looong im kinda a newbie to all of this carb counts i hope by stayong here and reading some threads i might learn sone new things to help me with diabetes

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You can teach yourself how to carb count with this course - https://www.bertieonline.org.uk

Adonno said:

Hello all, i'am 24 year's old and been diagnosed with diabetes since 2 years old, Kinda sucks cause as i reach my teenage life I don't care what i eat, i eat alot but i don't eat alot sweets cause i thought i will just die when the time comes but i still take insulin that time and atill today hahah. since my last check up i have diabetic retinopathy, and neuropathy, my creatinine is quite high. Is there still hope for me?

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Hello there! 22 years? Just a newbie then Kidding - well done on getting two decades under your belt. Is there hope for you? DEFINITELY! Do NOT give up on your health. Many T1's go through some complications, me included, after battling the condition for so long. That doesn't mean you're finished and there is no hope. I was diagnosed with retinopathy around 6-7 years ago. I'm here today, functioning, fighting and trying to improve my diabetes control.

Welcome to a great community

Hi @Adonno . First things first. As @catapillar as posted it's important you get a better understanding of how to control your diabetes through carb counting. Learn and understand this and things become more controllable.
It's never too late to make changes and affect our lives going forward but until that scientist finds the cure then it's down to us as individuals and as a team to do what we have to do.
Going forward I think you realise things need to change, starting with carb counting and monitoring your BS levels on a regular basis is top of the list.
Cutting out the junk food and eating healthy benefits everyone not just diabetics, I think you already have a good idea of what foods to avoid.
If possible try to incorporate exercise and activity in your life, it gives focus and purpose to surviving.
There are a lot of people on the forum with great experience and advice to offer. Just ask and they will help as much as possible.
One thing diabetes hates is a fighter, it only thrives when we let it control our lives.
Fight, control and one day you'll be advising other diabetics.
Good luck and keep posting.

Adonno said:

Is there still hope for me?

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There's always hope, man, there's always hope.

But there's also science. You've probably figured out by now that retinopathy and neuropathy are both caused by running your sugars too high for too long. It sounds like it's been a good wake up call for you to start paying attention to it, but you are going to have to do some work to sort it out.

The main one being making sure you don't go too high too much from now on.

Don't know how far down the line your retinopathy is. It's caused by high sugars putting pressure on small blood vessels in your eyes. Sometimes, they'll pop and start bleeding and you could end up blind. If it's fairly early on, it can go away on it's own just by keeping levels tight. If it's further down the line, doctors can fire a laser at the swollen blood vessels to seal them up. It sounds terrifying, but there's been a few posts on here from people saying it's not painful. I don't know anything about the Philippines health care system but I assume they must have that sort of thing available.

On carb counting, we can't give advice on dosing because we're not doctors. But if you were to go on a carb counting course or the online bertie one mentioned above, they'll more or less tell you some general rules which I'll set out here, but please remember that insulin treatment needs to be customised for every individual person, so think of them as a starting point: you'll probably need to tweak them a bit to work for you, and seeing as you've been T1 for so long anyway, you're probably half way there anyway.

Anyway, here's some starting points:

1. 10 grams of carbs will tend to raise blood glucose by 2 to 3 mmol/L. You're in the Philippines and a quick google suggests you use mg/dl, so that would be 36 to 54. There's a converter here:http://www.diabetes.co.uk/blood-sugar-converter.html

2. 1 unit of insulin will tend to lower blood glucose by 2 to 3, (36 to 54).

3. So, most carb counting courses will tell you that you need 1 unit for every 10 grams so it all balances out. So, if you're having 50 grams of carbs, you'll need 5 units of insulin to deal with that: 1 unit for every 10 grams.

4. But, and it's a big but, while 1 to 10 works fine for a lot of people, it doesn't work for everyone. Me, I tend to need 1.5 for every 10, others might need more or less. You won't know what's right for you till you start experimenting.

Try buying some packaged food which has a nutrition label on the back so you can tell how much carbs are in it (don't know if they do that in the Philippines). If it says 40 grams of carbs, wait till your sugars are at a decent level, say, 5 to 6 (90 to 108) try 4 units and see how that works out for you. If you end up sky high after 3 to 5 hours, it would suggest 1 to 10 doesn't work for you, so maybe try the same meal again with a bit more insulin and see if that works. Or if you drop too low on 1 to 10, reduce it a bit.

You've obviously managed 22 years so far, so you'll probably have a fair idea of how much you need for each meal, but, as you say, the retinopathy suggests you've been winging it a bit, and not always getting it right, so going back to basics and figuring out whether you're 1 to 10, 1.5 to 10 or some other ratio seems a fair starting point.

You'll also need to check your lantus dose is right by doing some basal testing: wait till 5 hours after your last meal/apidra shot, then just watch over the next 8 hours, without eating or doing any exercise, to see if your level stays about the same or falls or rises. If it stays the same, chances are your lantus is fine; if it drops, it might be too high; if it rises, the lantus might be too low. Lantus should be holding you steady when not eating.

Anyway, signing off from a mildly warm Scotland, am insanely jealous I can't just walk out of the pub to a beautiful Philippine beach with palm trees, but life's tough, isn't it?

@Adonno

Hello Adonno and welcome to the Forum Here is the Basic Information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful. Ask more questions when you want and someone will be able to help.


BASIC INFORMATION FOR NEW MEMBERS

Diabetes is the general term to describe people who have blood that is sweeter than normal. A number of different types of diabetes exist.

A diagnosis of diabetes tends to be a big shock for most of us. It’s far from the end of the world though and on this forum you'll find well over 235,000 people who are demonstrating this.

On the forum we have found that with the number of new people being diagnosed with diabetes each day, sometimes the NHS is not being able to give all the advice it would perhaps like to deliver - particularly with regards to people with type 2 diabetes.

The role of carbohydrate

Carbohydrates are a factor in diabetes because they ultimately break down into sugar (glucose) within our blood. We then need enough insulin to either convert the blood sugar into energy for our body, or to store the blood sugar as body fat.

If the amount of carbohydrate we take in is more than our body’s own (or injected) insulin can cope with, then our blood sugar will rise.

The bad news

Research indicates that raised blood sugar levels over a period of years can lead to organ damage, commonly referred to as diabetic complications.

The good news

People on the forum here have shown that there is plenty of opportunity to keep blood sugar levels from going too high. It’s a daily task but it’s within our reach and it’s well worth the effort.

Controlling your carbs

The info below is primarily aimed at people with type 2 diabetes, however, it may also be of benefit for other types of diabetes as well.

There are two approaches to controlling your carbs:

• Reduce your carbohydrate intake
• Choose ‘better’ carbohydrates

Reduce your carbohydrates

A large number of people on this forum have chosen to reduce the amount of carbohydrates they eat as they have found this to be an effective way of improving (lowering) their blood sugar levels.

The carbohydrates which tend to have the most pronounced effect on blood sugar levels tend to be starchy carbohydrates such as rice, pasta, bread, potatoes and similar root vegetables, flour based products (pastry, cakes, biscuits, battered food etc) and certain fruits.

Choosing better carbohydrates

The low glycaemic index diet is often favoured by healthcare professionals but some people with diabetes find that low GI does not help their blood sugar enough and may wish to cut out these foods altogether.

Read more on carbohydrates and diabetes.

Over 145,000 people have taken part in the Low Carb Program - a free 10 week structured education course that is helping people lose weight and reduce medication dependency by explaining the science behind carbs, insulin and GI.

Eating what works for you

Different people respond differently to different types of food. What works for one person may not work so well for another. The best way to see which foods are working for you is to test your blood sugar with a glucose meter.

To be able to see what effect a particular type of food or meal has on your blood sugar is to do a test before the meal and then test after the meal. A test 2 hours after the meal gives a good idea of how your body has reacted to the meal.

The blood sugar ranges recommended by NICE are as follows:

Blood glucose ranges for type 2 diabetes

• Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
• 2 hours after meals: under 8.5 mmol/l

Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (adults)

• Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
• 2 hours after meals: under 9 mmol/l

Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (children)

• Before meals: 4 to 8 mmol/l
• 2 hours after meals: under 10 mmol/l

However, those that are able to, may wish to keep blood sugar levels below the NICE after meal targets.

Access to blood glucose test strips

The NICE guidelines suggest that people newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes should be offered:

• structured education to every person and/or their carer at and around the time of diagnosis, with annual reinforcement and review
• self-monitoring of plasma glucose to a person newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes only as an integral part of his or her self-management education

Therefore both structured education and self-monitoring of blood glucose should be offered to people with type 2 diabetes. Read more on getting access to blood glucose testing supplies.

You may also be interested to read questions to ask at a diabetic clinic.

Note: This post has been edited from Sue/Ken's post to include up to date information.

Take part in Diabetes.co.uk digital education programs and improve your understanding. They're all free.

• Low Carb Program - it's made front-page news of the New Scientist and The Times. Developed with 20,000 people with type 2 diabetes; 96% of people who take part recommend it... find out why
• Hypo Program - improve your understanding of hypos. There's a version for people with diabetes, parents/guardians of children with type 1, children with type 1 diabetes, teachers and HCPs.

Not really much for me to add here @Adonno, it seems that the other T1's have more or less got everything covered

I'd like to stress the point that it is never to late to attempt to then things around. You will never stop learning about diabetes and how to manage it. This forum will give you a wealth of information and you'll meet some great people along the way too

I'd advise you to get this book, it's such a handy guide to managing your condition and will almost definitely help you to get on top of it:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B06XCDTPP1/ref=tmm_kin_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=&sr=

Hello there and welcome
Please don't despair.
I've had type 1 for 42 years and was diagnosed aged 6.
Suffered retinopathy and had laser treatment about 20 years ago.
I'm working and driving and everything.
I'm like a gazelle...........
Well perhaps thats stretching things too far but you get my point.
I've had one or two autoimmune issues along the way but nothing out of the ordinary.
I'm 50 next year and looking forward to it.

All the very best to you

Tony

Well if you do eat any thing and not care,you are bringing the date of you demise closer.As a T1 for over 55 years and been on injections since I was 14,it never bothered me as I wanted to live and stop the "silent killer" from killing me and at 71 I am still here and enjoying life

Adonno said:

what will happen if i take 1 meal shot then after an about i will take 1 again, is that fine? (Example: i take a meal shot for my lunch then after an hour or two my friends wanted to eat some noodles/snacks will it be safe to take another shot or just drool over them eating hahah)

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If taking shots so close together for meals/snacks, then BS's will be confusing for a bit raising for the carbs eaten & lowering for the insulin taken) take a little more insulin after but check your BS an hour or 2 after this to see whether you need more. If you're able to not consume any more foods after a meal, at least -4 hours after, you'll understand your position & control of BGs better to begin with. Also exercising after meals, assists the insulin to break down carbs & excess sugars in your blood, so be careful of how much insulin you give the second time round.

Planning ahead & organising your day helps me know of how much insulin to take, quantity of food to consume, to reduce low BGs & to no have to snack regularly to maintain BGs either.

Hope this helps a little for this part of your many questions you have of maintaining your diabetes.